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OK the story goes like this. Had a great day for flying so I grabed two kites and headed to the field. Until recently I only owned one kite. I bought a couple from Allen Carter.

So I grab the NewTech Seduction that I got from Allen and proceeded to get it assembled to fly. Now remember this was my first time with a kite different then my older kite. Got the kite into the sky and in less then 3 min. the kite made a terrible sound and collapsed together and fell to the ground.

As I took that long sad walk to the kite thinking I had broken the kite because of the wind. Come to find out I was so excited to fly my new toy I forgot to put in the upper spreader ( I think it's called a spreader not sure ). But either way I still broke it.

Could I get some advice on how to repair the sail and I also need to replace the bottom left spreader, it cracked and went through the sail.

( tried to post pics but no luck )

The rip is about 3in. long and aprx. 1 in. wide at the top.

The spreader is pretty thin wall and 29 and a half inch long.

If you respond PLEASE remember I am still very new to stunt kites. So if you could explain it to me like I was a 12yr. old I would greatly appreciate it.

True Rookie,,, Mike

P.S. Allen, Im so sorry. I know it belongs to me now but somehow I feel like I gave your child a spanking. I so wanted to take extra special care with them. I know I will have a learning curve but no excuse for not putting the kite together all the way. On the plus side I did my first tip stab (I think thats what it is called). Did it with my old dual line.

Logged

The wind is blowing, hope I learn something today. If not it was still fun

It shouldn't be too hard to repair. New Tech is a good company and probably can replace the spreaders that broke. I broke a lot of sticks on my Prism Flashlight when I first learned to fly and the Prism parts were readily available. I imagine that any one of the kite shops featured on the right here can help. To fix the tear you'll need some clear Tedlar tape. Just cut some to apply to either side of the tear and smooth it out well. (I think they call it burnishing it.) Don't try and use regular tape because it has some corrosive reactions that don't work well with kites.

This is just a speed bump on your way to really learning to fly. And be happy that you didn't have this happen with a real high-end kite that's worth 100s of dollars.

Mike, sounds like a typical learning curve to me, it only seems like a major catastrophe now.

Bob's advice is sound. Another possibility for the tear repair to use insignia cloth. It is a little heavier but sometimes is easier to find. Frequently the framing will be labeled with the maker / size, if so the shops as mentioned can help. If you can not find a label or other info, rub the broken piece on some sandpaper, if the dust is black it is carbon / graphite, if white it is fiberglass. Measure the OD and ID of the tube and one of the shops should be able to match you up. Good luck with the repairs, they're part of the learning curve too

Take a picture of the sail and send it to me rob at newtechkites.com It may have been a 1st gen seduction and we don't have any parts for that but they were standard avia so there should be some out there. Rob

Kite damage is part of kite flying. If you don't break something now and then, you're not trying.

My first six months it seemed like I was always fixing something. Then the first couple of years it was less frequent, but I still built up a huge pile of spare parts just in case.

It is very rare to destroy a kite. They may get a bit ugly with scars and wear, but that generally does absolutely nothing to flight performance. In the sky, 75' away, very few repairs other than big hunks of black tape on the sail can be seen. Great thing about black kites...

As Allen mentioned, it's really not that big of a deal. I'd not worry too much about it. The spreader is very easy to replace and it will be an exact match. The sail can be taped (you can try crazy glue but a 3" tear is a bit tricky). Tape the front and back and from 15' away no one will be able to see it.

Someone should have a way for you to obtain tape for ripstop fabric.

Sometimes I will dab just a bit of slow drying crazy glue on the tear while holding the fabric tight so the two sides come together. I then put the tape over this. Just enough to cover both sides of the rip. Use very little glue as once it dries, it does not bend like the fabric.

Again, don't worry too much about it. You will get the kite fixed and won't even notice it when flying.

Get some Tedlar tape as mentioned. It will be the best thing you can use. Lay out the sail flat and carefully line up the tear. Use painters tape(or masking tape) on the front side to hold the tear together temporarily. Turn the kite over and tape the back side first cutting enough to go at least 3/4 inch wider on each side than the tear making sure to round off all corners. Burnish well by starting from the center out using your thumbs to rub as the heat created will bond the tape better (if your thumbs start burning your rubbing too hard ). Remove the temp tape on the front side and repeat for a good strong repair.

Do Not use anything but Tedlar tape as it is specifically designed for sail repair and will not react with the coatings or materials and will allow the material to remain flexible. All other tapes use glues that have an acidic reaction when exposed to sunlight and will degrade the material. Clear packing tape is probably the worst tape you can use.

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